Visit Simsbury's Phelps Tavern, Two Others on Historic Taverns Bus Tour

Contact: Nancy Weiner-Anstey, 860-676-8878, fvva@snet.net, www.fvva.com

When:Saturday, May 2, 2015 / 9:15am - 5:00pm

Where: Meet at Iron Horse Boulevard Commuter Parking Lot, Simsbury, CT 06070 to board bus

Fee: $45 per person, reservations required. Discount for a “six-pack” of tickets.

Historic Sites of Connecticut’s Farmington Valley is pleased to present Historic Taverns & Tastings – the first bus tour of its kind in the Valley! Visit historic taverns in Simsbury, Burlington and Barkhamsted, enjoying Colonial music, a traditional open hearth meal, and a tasting of popular old time tavern drinks. Admission is $45 per person (ages 21 and over only) and includes the bus tour, lunch and ale samplings, as well as a pre-tour talk and tasting on Thursday, April 30 with award-winning culinary writer Corin Hirsch. A “six-pack” of tickets will save you $30 (only $240), so gather a group of friends for this unique adventure! Tour reservations are required. Call the Farmington Valley Visitors Association at 860.676.8878 or purchase tickets online at www.fvva.com by April 24 to reserve your spot.

The tavern is a time-honored, evocative gathering place in New England culture. In Colonial times, it was fundamental to the community – travel was an uncomfortable endeavor, and taverns offered warmth, sustenance and, perhaps most importantly, served as ‘nerve centers’ where issues were discussed and debated, games were played, and neighborly conversations held. Savor an unforgettable experience of the Farmington Valley’s rich Tavern tradition with this distinctive Tour and Tasting.

The journey into Colonial New England begins on Thursday, April 30 at 7:00 pm at the Canton Community Center, 40 Dyer Avenue, with a compelling presentation by Corin Hirsch, associate editor and writer for Convene Magazine, previous writer at Seven Days weekly newspaper in Vermont, and former bartender in a sixteenth-century English pub. Corin will give a talk and tasting based on her book, Forgotten Drinks of Colonial New England:: From Flips and Rattle-Skulls to Switchel and Spruce Beer (The History Press, 2014). The lecture is open to the public; admission is $5 per person for those not joining the bus tour May 2.

With appetites whetted by Corin’s lecture, tour-goers will board the bus on Saturday, May 2 at9:15 AM at Iron Horse Boulevard, Simsbury, departing promptly at 9:30 AM. The first stop will be the Phelps Tavern in Simsbury, owned by five generations of the Phelps family for nearly 200 years. The building served as family home, canal hotel, lodge meeting site, entertainment hall, and local tavern. From 1786 until 1849, three generations of fathers and sons, and one widow, served as tavern-keepers.

After being treated at Phelps to music of the period, participants will take a scenic bus ride to Burlington Historical Society’s 1810 Elton Tavern, once part of a stagecoach route from the Farmington Valley to Litchfield. This Federal-style structure served as a private home, public house and inn for 164 years, and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Here, participants will enjoy a talk and tour, demonstrations in both open hearth cooking and baking with a beehive oven in the tavern’s original kitchen, and finally a delicious, hearty colonial meal, traditionally prepared and served in the tavern.

With plenty to chat about, tour-goers will then head to the Squire’s Tavern of the Barkhamsted Historical Society. At this ca. 1795 farmhouse, guests will hear about the family that lived there and operated a tavern in their home as a side business to their large farm. The group will be acquainted with the popular old-time tavern drinks that were served to thirsty travelers and local residents – and treated to a variety for sampling. Several rooms in the tavern will be available to tour, including the ballroom and historic exhibits area.

At last, with their heads full of fascinating facts and tummies full of tasty treats, tour-goers will head back to Iron Horse Boulevard, hearing more historical tidbits along the way with the bus trip’s tour guide, Mike Day, author on 19th-century education and Curator of The Barkhamsted Historical Society’s One Room Schoolhouse.

Proceeds from the tour benefit Historic Sites of Connecticut’s Farmington Valley, whose mission is to enhance appreciation of the Farmington Valley’s rich history by promoting communication among heritage groups and offering unique programs. Historic Sites is part of theFarmington Valley Visitors Association, a non-profit corporation, whose mission is to serve as a resource for residents, and to promote the Farmington Valley to individuals and businesses wishing to relocate to the area, and tourists wishing to experience all that the Farmington Valley has to offer.

Photo caption: Tour-goers will enjoy Colonial cooking demos and a hearty, traditionally-prepared lunch at Elton Tavern, Burlington Historical Society.